3
CENTRAL LEADER, NOVEMBER 12, 2010
NEWS
Come and try our new Summer menu, enjoy the
beautiful Courtyard now summer has arrived!!
We are happy to make Breakfast bookings and
High Tea reservations for Xmas.
120 Onehunga Mall Road, Onehunga
Ph: 622 2819
Hrs: 7am - 5pm Weekdays / 8am - 5pm Weekends
Columbus Onehunga....
Once again the heart of
great food and award
winning coffee.
Krista is back in the
Kitchen with some new
ideas and some old
favorites that made our
cafe famous for its food.
3263166AA
A feel good comedy set in the city of love, about three
women of a "certain age" who experience love, laughter, loss
and tears, and impor tantly, the joys and challenges
of growing old.
Cast Required: 4X Women (45-60's), 1X Man (45-55)
Please see www.dolphintheatre.org.nz or contact director for
fur ther information. Note auditions by appointment please.
Season: 19th February -- 12th March 2011
For audition appointment contact Claire Nelson
Ph: 827-2822 or 021-208-7617
Email: secretary@dolphintheatre.org.nz
Or online at www.dolphintheatre.org.nz
12 Spring Street, Onehunga
--- Auditions ---
"We'll Always Have Paris"
Saturday and Sunday
27th/28th November 2010
Written by Jill Hyem
Directed by Mary Granfors
IN BRIEF
Brazen robbery
A Greenlane restaurant was
the centre of police attention
last week when a brazen
aggravated robbery unfolded.
Mt Wellington acting senior
sergeant Matt Knowsley says
about 10.30am last Thursday
a man entered The Abbey Bar
and Kitchen on Great South
Rd.
''He held up staff and has
made off with an amount of
money, and took off out the
back,'' Mr Knowsley says.
''There were two to three staff
present and the restaurant
hadn't been open long.''
Mr Knowsley says it seems
the offender timed the run to
suit his chances because it
was unlikely he would
encounter many people.
He says an initial
investigation is complete and
the case has been handed on
to the Glen Innes criminal
investigation bureau.
''No one has been arrested at
this point.''
The offender is described as
a Maori or Pacific Islander
with a large build who was
completely covered in
clothing.
''He was also in possession
of a firearm, thought to be a
high-powered air rifle,'' Mr
Knowsley says.
Police are focusing on CCTV
footage and forensic analysis.
Anyone with information on
the incident should contact
the Glen Innes police on
524-1920 or the anonymous
Crimestoppers line on
0800-555-111.
Readership up
The latest Nielsen
Readership Survey confirms
that Suburban Newspapers
readership continues to grow
and dominate the Auckland
market.
Suburban Newspapers reach
65.6 percent of people in
Auckland aged 15+ with a
combined average issue
readership of 690,000
people.
By comparison the New
Zealand Herald has an
average issue readership of
423,000 and reaches only
40.2 percent of people in
Auckland aged 15+.
Suburban Newspapers has
267,000 more readers or
63.1 percent more readers
than the New Zealand Herald.
Source: Nielsen Readership
Survey Q4.09-Q3.10:
Auckland 15+
Scottish denied funding
By SCOTT MORGAN
No funding: Members of the Auckland Burns Society, from left: Trevor Pollard, Dave Small and Tom Shiels, may have to pull the plug
on the annual Scottish Family Picnic Day after being denied funding by the outgoing Auckland City Council.
Photo: JASON OXENHAM
THE SOUND of bagpipes is
unlikely to be heard in the
Auckland Domain early next
year with the looming cancel-
lation of the annual Scottish
Family Picnic Day.
Organisers of the event are
struggling to come up with
funding for portaloos, a stage
and sound system after being
turned down for a $2500
grant by the Auckland City
Council in September.
The event sees Highland
dancing groups, pipe bands
and musicians from around
the city gather at the domain,
where a statue of Scottish
folk hero Robbie Burns
stands.
Auckland Burns Associ-
ation president Tom Shiels is
mystified by the rejection
after the group received
funding for the previous two
years.
He says it s unfair other
ethnic groups receive funding
for events like Pasifika, the
Chinese Lantern Festival and
Diwali.
The Scots have been here
as long as anyone else.
It would make Sir John
Logan Campbell, Sir James
Fletcher and all the other
prominent Scots turn in their
graves.
Originally the event was
organised to celebrate the
250th birthday of Robbie
Burns in 2008 but became
a more general celebration of
Scottish culture last year.
Mr Shiels was told the
group didn t meet the
council s funding criteria
because it s not a legal
entity, like an incorporated
society.
But he says that wasn t
made clear during the appli-
cation process.
We thought we were doing
a good turn providing a festi-
val for all of Auckland.
We ve been cut to
ribbons.
The group has also applied
to other trusts but failed in
its bid for funding because of
strict selection criteria.
Now time is running out to
get funding sorted before the
end of the year.
Waitemata Local Board
chairman Shale Chambers
says the board is unable to
help because it won t have
access to a discretionary
funding budget until July
next year.
This is the difficulty we
are facing.
Obviously the Scottish
community is a very import-
ant one -- I ve got no idea why
the council didn t fund it.
Former Auckland City
Council community boards
were encouraged to spend a
year s worth of funding before
the end of their term in Octo-
ber, leaving new local boards
with no discretionary
reserves.
Mr Chambers says it s
tough to know whether the
council or local board should
be responsible for funding
this type of event.
It seems to be slightly too
big for a local event and
slightly too small for a larger
event.
Auckland Council manager
for community development
Louise Mason says infor-
mation on how community
funding will be distributed
from July 1 next year will be
made available once details
are finalised.
Call Mr Shiels on 483-6832
if you can help the association
with fundraising.
Campaign picks up on unsightly rubbish
A new campaign featuring
floral rubbish bags, signs
written in moss, and colourful
flowerbeds, is under way to
encourage central city busi-
nesses to keep the area clean
and rubbish-free.
The Beautify Your City
campaign is a joint initiative
by Heart of the City and the
Auckland Council that runs
for 10 months leading up to
the Rugby World Cup.
The campaign encourages
businesses to put their rub-
bish and recycling out at the
correct times and discourages
the illegal dumping of rub-
bish.
Hotspots where illegal
dumping is a particular prob-
lem will be decorated with
colourful, temporary flower-
beds and signs reminding
Aucklanders not to leave rub-
bish there.
We expect the flowerbeds
and displays to beautify prob-
lem areas of the city and act
as a visual reminder to busi-
nesses and residents of the
need to keep the city clean,
Heart of the City project
manager Jane Stewart says.
The red rubbish bag is
being replaced by a purple
pansy print bag and the clear
plastic recycling bag will be
decorated with a green hedge.
The campaign has three
bursts of major activity
starting this month and con-
tinuing in March, June and
July next year.
A particular target are
cafes and restaurants that
illegally dispose of fats and
oils by pouring them into
street drains and tree pits.
Council compliance officers
will be on hand to issue
enforcement notices.
The CBD is the heart of
Auckland city and the state of
our streets leaves a lasting
impression on visitors -- we
simply must tidy them up for
the coming Rugby World
Cup, Ms Stewart says.
Information about the cam-
paign can be found at
www.hotcity.co.nz
and
www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/
rubbishandrecycling or by
phoning 379-1355.